Wuhan History

During AD 223, the Yellow Crane Tower was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. The town has long been renowned as a main center for the arts. In 1911, Sun Yat-sen's led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty & the establishment of the Republic of China.

During 1938, the city of Wuhan and its proximities became the battlefield of the Battle of Wuhan. It was a major conflict in the second Sino-Japanese in 1938. The city became an important Japanese logistics center for operations in southern China.

However, during 1944 the town was largely destroyed by USA. Starting a civil war and as a result of tension brought by the Cultural Revolution.

The city of Wuhan has been subject of several devastating floods, which are supposed to be controlled by the ambitious 3 Gorges Dam.

Main Events in Wuhan History:

• Opening Hankou as a Trading Port: In the second Opium War, the government of Qing Dynasty was destroyed by the western powers and signed Treaties of Convention of Peking and Tiajin, which stipulated 11 towns or regions including Hankou as trading ports.

During 1858, James Bruce the head of the Royal British Navy, led 4 warships up the Yangtze River in Wuham to find the information needed for opening the trading port in Wuhan.

• Hubei under Zhang Zhidong: In the fifteenth year of Guangxu Period (1889) of the Qing dynasty, Zhang Zhidong was transferred from Guangdong to be the governer general of Hubei and Hunan.

During 1906, he had governed Hubeir for 17 years, in this period he elucidated the theory of "Chinese learning as the basis Western learning for application," called ti-yong ideal.

• Wuchang Uprising: On october 10 of the third year of Xuantong Period of the Qing Dynasty, an armed uprising broke out in Wuchang. Before uprising, with the purpose of overthrowing the Manchu dynasty.

On September 1911, the Qing Government moved part of the Hubei new army to Sichuan for suppressing the people’s uprising there, which made a good chance for the uprising in Wuhan.